


Carnivore

by EmbryonicHarmonic



Category: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner
Genre: Drabble, Gen, Horror, don't go off the path
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-12
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2019-03-03 19:37:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13348104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmbryonicHarmonic/pseuds/EmbryonicHarmonic
Summary: Don't go off the path. Don't stray from the shrine. Don't leave the safety of Shinoda.





	Carnivore

Never go off the path.

Raidou had heeded those words since day one, and now he found himself disobeying them. 

He could not explain it, but he had left the path, abandoned the stone that lead to the Nameless Shrine, and gone into the woods. Someone, something had called his name, and soon he realized there was nothing, that he was… 

Lost wasn’t the right term for it. 

The young man turned around, sure that he would see the path behind him, but there was nothing. His mind tried to focus, but something seemed to pop behind his ears, and Raidou was not entirely sure where he was. It was as if a switch had been flicked, and suddenly he did not recognize anything. It was not a feeling of having simply been turned around, it was that suddenly, nothing looked familiar. Nothing looked like the forests around Shinoda. Nothing looked like any woods he had ever been in. 

He stood, his mind slowly working to figure out what to do. It seemed the more he tried to think, the less the world made sense to him, and he felt more lost by simply doing nothing. Drawing in a sharp breath, Raidou just picked a direction - not that he really knew which it was - and started walking. 

The more he walked, the less he felt he knew. The less sure of himself he became. Raidou felt his composure starting to crumble, and he stopped recognizing anything. He had no idea where he was. How far from Shinoda he had gone, or how long he had been gone. 

A hunger grew in the pit of his stomach. 

A ravenous hunger.

_Eat. Eat something._

The thought burrowed into his head, and he could not think of anything else. He was stranded in the woods, he had to eat. Had to eat something. 

_It’s okay. It’s okay… you just have to find something to eat. Keep walking and find something to eat…_

He wasn’t sure if the voice was his own, but the words repeated in his head. He had to eat. He just had to eat, and he would be okay. Just eat something. Eat something. Eat. He had never felt this sort of hunger in his entire life, something so deep in the pit of his stomach that he could not focus. He had to eat. Eat.

Eat. 

Eat something.

Eat something and be okay.

“Raidou!”

A voice. 

He turned, and the person was familiar.. White suit. Curly hair. Familiar, but the image was not clicking.

_Eat. Eat and you’ll be okay._

Raidou’s hand slid to his pistol, slowly pulling it from its holster. All he had to do was eat. All he had to do was eat, and he would be okay. He’d be okay if he just--

“The hell are you doing!? Raidou!”

Just like that, he stopped. Recognition slammed back into his consciousness. Narumi. That was Narumi in front of him. He wasn’t lost, Narumi had found him. That was good, that was okay, he was going to be fine, nothing was hurting him. He was almost immediately crushed into a hug, and Raidou dropped his pistol, finding himself clinging to the other man as if he were a child. 

“You were missing for two days! What happened?” 

Raidou wished he could answer, but he had no response. 

...but he certainly could go for a hot meal.


End file.
